XIAM007

Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Sunday 2 December 2012

School Replaces Baby Jesus with Frosty the Snowman -

School Replaces Baby Jesus with Frosty the Snowman - 



Frosty the Snowman is there — and so is Santa Claus.
But the Baby Jesus is stuffed inside a closet at Cottondale Elementary School — leaving many residents of this small town in the Florida panhandle outraged.
The Nativity scene had been a part of the school’s holiday lawn decorations for years. But this year the yuletide display is strictly secular.
Principal Brenda Jones told television station WJHG the decision to keep Baby Jesus in the closet came after an official with the Dept. of Education dropped by to discuss the separation of church and state.
“The Dept. of Education came in and talked to us about the legalities of religion in the school systems and the separation of the two,” Jones told the television station.
In an attempt to be fair to everyone, the principal said, “We decided that we would just not put the Nativity scene out on campus.”
The decision has sparked controversy among the 869 residents who live in this gulf coast community.
Officials with the Jackson County School Board did not return calls seeking comment.

Read more -
http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/school-replaces-baby-jesus-with-frosty-the-snowman.html

Ambulance gets 'booted' while paramedics tend to emergency -

Ambulance gets 'booted' while paramedics tend to emergency - 



The Quicky's convenience store in Mid-City takes its parking lot rules seriously. Very seriously.
About 4 p.m. Friday, New Orleans paramedics rushed inside the store for a man with a life-threatening medical issue.
They worked on the patient with chest pain, put him inside the vehicle, then started to speed off.
The paramedics “heard a loud noise,” and the vehicle came to a screeching halt, according to Jeb Tate, spokesman for New Orleans Emergency Medical Services.
The medics stepped out and found a boot on their ambulance.
Convenience store employees allegedly put a restrictive parking boot on the ambulance. And now it was stuck.
The paramedics were perplexed.
Tate said the ambulance had its emergency lights on the whole time.
Store employees didn’t want to talk about it. They declined requests for comment.
Apparently one of the employees took the boot off. The tire was left flat.
And so the paramedics and the man with the emergency waited.
“We actually had to delay that patient's care by calling another ambulance out here to come transport this patient,” Tate said.
Signs on the convenience store make clear that parking is for customers only. The signs state: “If you leave the property for any reason your vehicle will be booted.”
But the paramedics apparently were there the whole time tending to a man with chest pains.
We called the telephone number on the sign, for the “Boot Man.”
A convenience store employee picked up, then hung up.
Tate, the EMS spokesman, said the agency has never had an incident like this before.
"As long as we have our lights on, we park where it is safe to park,” he added.

Read more -
http://www.wwltv.com/news/eyewitness/brendanmccarthy/Ambulance-gets-booted-while-tending-to-emergency-181631351.html